Montreal musician and Concordia student hits the stage at Tiny Fest’s third edition.
Even with summer behind us, musical festivities in Montreal are far from taking a break. Tiny Fest, a local music festival featuring bands and artists, presented its third edition on Oct. 6–7. It was hosted and produced by Worst Dad Ever, an event organization that puts together independent shows, tours and gigs for touring bands. Among the same venues from last year, La Sala Rossa and La Sotterenea, the small but cherished venue Casa Del Popolo got added to the mix this year.
I had the chance to attend the festival on its last day. Montreal singer and songwriter Sophie Ogilvie was the last act on the Saturday evening’s lineup. Bodywash—a local band with airy vocals and atmospheric sounds—played their respective show on the previous day and happened to be the backing band for Ogilvie’s gig. Concordia was also definitely in the house owing to the facts that Sophie Ogilvie herself is a current MA student, Bodywash’s Rosie Long Decter is a recent graduate and Concordia’s radio station CJLO 1690 AM was on the event sponsor list.
Before the final and main act of the night, I was able to catch a glimpse of the set from Toronto’s Westelaken. The “post-country” band set the mood for the rest of the evening, notably with their poignant and raw vocal delivery from frontman Jordan Seccareccia accompanied with sweet piano chords and handled rhythm with the drumset. Most of the songs were from their album I am Steaming Mushrooms released early this year.
As for Sophie Ogilvie, her recent project Coming Up, Crocus was at the core of the live performance. Labelled as an indie rock artist on streaming services, Ogilvie has effectively merged jazz, R&B, and 90s alternative into her debut EP. Fellow friends of Ogilvie in the band Bodywash accompanied her with background vocals, bass, guitar and keys. Chris Steward from the band also worked on Coming Up, Crocus and as Sophie Ogilvie puts it, the album is “a labour of the two of us mostly.”
Throughout the set, the singer promoted the delicate EP which, as stated in her Bandcamp bio, “chronicles how one season passes into the next and how a relationship resolves itself into something gone.” The single “Milk Glass” highlights exactly that, notably with my favourite lyrics—“And I don’t want to need anything I take from you, but I do.” The catchy harmonies of “I do” repeating only enhance the vulnerable message.
The concept of change in motion is a prominent theme in the EP as well. The set went from featuring acoustic tracks like “New Friend,” putting forward Ogilvie’s soft vocals and guitar skills, to the most energetic track “Lash” which the Montreal artist asked the audience to dance to.
Despite the unfortunate rain that weekend, attendees were definitely still present in showing their support for the young artists. Many fellow students, acquaintances, and friends of the starring musicians came together for the close of the tiny but mighty festival.
